After
by aya-kun
Summary: this follows after the ave maria duet manga ...


This is just a scene that popped up while reading 63 (aaah. Why is it the other one missing? Where is 62? T___T) my author's note at the end has a spoiler on 63, so don't read it if you don't want to. These scenes just popped into my head while re-reading 63 again…and again…and again…XD

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After the rain

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Kahoko stared out the open window, seeing the clouds forming; she wondered if it was going to rain. The forecast that morning had been vague about it.

She sighed and frowned worryingly. _What if he didn't see the forecast again?_

"Kaho-chan…Kaho-chan."

"Eh?" Kaho turned to focus on her friend. "W-what is it?"

"What were you staring at? Why'd you sigh?" Mio asked her. When the clouds had started rolling in, her red headed friend had suddenly gotten anxious and worried about something…which reminded her…

"Ne, Kaho-chan?"

Kaho saw her friend's smirking face closing in and slowly backed away. "Y-yes?"

"I couldn't see you clearly but I'm pretty sure I saw you sharing an umbrella with someone."

Nao, who had only been watching the two, suddenly felt interested. "Was it a guy?"

"Eh?!" _She saw! Wait. It's not like I'm hiding it!_

"Oh. Good answer. That meant a 'yes', didn't it Mio?"

Mio nodded vigorously. Her eager face moved closer to Kaho. " So? Who was it?"

"Erm…" _It was just Tsukimori-kun…but somehow…_The way Mio was looking at her made her uncomfortable. "Erm…"

"Is it someone we know?"

"Eh..."

"That's a 'yes.'"

"Eh?! How did you-?"

"You just confirmed it. Didn't she, Mio?"

"Oh yes. So c'mon, who'd you walk in the rain with?"

"I didn't walk in the rain."

"Was it Kaji-kun?"

"That must've been a dream come true for him, huh?"

"No, it wasn't!" Kaho shook her head.

"Not Kaji-kun? Then, it wasn't someone from this class?"

"No!"

"Oh. Someone in the next class?"

"No."

"Ah! Someone from the music department!" Mio shouted, remembering that she'd seen at least the guy's uniform.

"You guys!" They were starting to call attention to themselves. Kaho wanted to hide.

"Ooh. She didn't deny it."

"Mou!" Kaho decided to run. But Nao's next words stopped her midstride.

"You must really like him."

"Eh?"

"Your face is red."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Are you thinking about him right now?"

Yes. Yes, she was. "N-no. I mean, well of course I am now. You brought it up."

Mio and Nao looked to each other. It was dawning on them that their good friend was really dense. More than they thought possible. And also, they were wondering who this person might be…

"Maybe she wants to keep this secret close to her for now?" Mio said to Nao.

"Hmmm. Wow, Kaho. You're a romantic."

"Mou!" Kaho turned and walked away. Wondering for herself, why she didn't just say that it was Tsukimori-kun.

She was also wondering about his sudden silence after they played together yesterday. She hoped her playing hadn't been so bad. But that didn't make sense since she knew she hadn't played awfully. And at the end…_At the end. It sounded so…perfect._

***

[The next day…]

Kaho was walking to the roof when she saw Tsukimori going the same way. "Tsukimori-kun. Hi. You going to practice?"

"Well, yes. But I thought I'd use some time to listen first."

"Listen?"

Tsukimori brought out a CD.

"Hamai Misa. Best collection. Eh? Your mother's? Don't you listen to it at home?"

"Hmm," came his non committal answer. Kaho found it strange. She didn't notice Len's quiet awkwardness. The violinist was recalling his mother's words the other night when he'd gone home.

"_You look happy. Who are you thinking about?"_

Kaho looked down at the CD again as they reached the roof. "May I listen too?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

_He wondered how she knew it was a 'who'._

Lunch break ended up as a practice free hour. The two had listened to Tsukimori's mother playing. Kaho smiled as she remembered how refined and kind, Hamai-san was. "You're mother's a good person. And she really plays beautifully."

"…Thank you." Tsukimori looked at Kaho in the corner of his eye. That she was one of the few to comment about his mother as a person and not just as a talent was somehow made him want to smile.

Kaho stared at her schoolmate as a rare smile came to his face. She wondered what he was thinking about? His mother, maybe. _That's nice._ That the thought of his mother would make him smile now. Unlike that time she'd made him nervous on asking about his parents during the concours.

Walking back down after the break, Tsukimori became silent. The paper bag he held weighed on his hand. He was remembering being asked about it. It had called the attention of a couple of his classmates that morning.

"_I didn't know you liked that stuff, Tsukimori." The paper bag's only image, the sticker, was recognizable._

"_Hmm? Oh. It's not for me."_

"_Eh? A gift maybe?" his classmate asked, smiling widely._

"…_Something like that, I guess."_

_He didn't see his classmates' jaw drop._

'Something like that' he'd said. He supposed it _was_ a gift of sorts. Although it was more like…just something to give.

"Hino."

"Hmm?" Kaho had been looking out the windows again, staring worriedly at the sky. The clouds had gotten dark again. Even though the forecast didn't say anything about rain, the clouds worried her. When Tsukimori called her name, she turned to him.

"Here." He held the bag to her.

"Eh?" she took the bag. "What is it?"

"You looked like you really wanted it."

"Hmm? Uhm, thank you." _What is it?_

Tsukimori nodded and turned to go. "Well then. See you."

"Hmm?" Curious, Kaho watched him walk away and turn the corner before she headed back for her own classroom. She was flipping it over when she reached her room. _Eh? _ As she sat down on her desk, she opened the bag and half pulled out the magazine she'd wanted to buy the other day.

Giggling at the thought of Len buying such a magazine, Kaho held the gift over her mouth and hid her smile.

.

.

.

.

End

a/n: eheheh. *re-reading chapter 63*…*again*. Oh wow, do I love that chapter. /// Len is so eloquent, even in realizing his feelings. "If it is expressed in words, then it is love." Kyaaa~ I want chapter 64! X3


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